Best Practices in the Financial Services Industry

Ideas and tips from Marie Swift, a nationally-recognized consultant who's worked with some of the top financial advisory firms nationwide for nearly twenty years. This blog spotlights financial services firms and allied institutions that Swift deems as adopting "Best Practices" in the industry. Swift also shares some of her own tools and ideas aimed at helping independent financial advisors.

Saturday, March 7, 2015

It is such an honor to be able to sit and talk with industry insightfuls such as those I selected to be a part of my last roundtable centered on the investment landscape and what financial advisors should be thinking about in 2015.

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Why do client engagement strategies fail? On February 17th, I'll be asking Spenser Segal and Julie Littlechild that very question and several more.

We all know that client engagement initiatives can result in growth and increased profitability, but they often fail to achieve the intended goals. The two main reasons are (1) a lack of meaningful input from clients, and (2) poor execution.

On February 17th, Julie Littlechild, founder of Advisor Impact and If Not Now Research, and Spenser Segal, founder of ActiFi, and I will dialog about the problems and the solutions.

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

ActiFi and Advisor Impact Introduce New Client Engagement Program

Powerful Strategic Alliance Leverages Voice of the Client for Deeper Relationships and More Effective Business Development

Have you heard about ActiFi Client Engagement? This unique program combines the power of robust client feedback with the tools,
support and resources to build more engaged and profitable client
relationships. ActiFi Client Engagement is being powered by the Client
Audit, Advisor Impact's industry leading client feedback program.

ActiFi Client Engagement will take client feedback to the next level,
layering in coaching, practice management resources and technology to
help financial advisory firms take meaningful action. The program will
be offered directly to individual advisors as well as through
broker-dealers, custodians and TAMP's as part of a robust, integrated
offer that links client feedback directly to advisor workflow,
positively impacting efficiency and the bottom line.

"Working with a firm like ActiFi allows us to increase the value for
advisors, while remaining focused on our core capability, which is
helping advisors gather client feedback," said Julie Littlechild, founder of Advisor Impact. "In many respects, ActiFi
represents an exciting future for client feedback and client engagement
because they can provide the in-depth consulting and technology
integration that will lead to more significant return-on-investment for
advisors and their firms."

The program offers a choice of three levels – Impact, Innovate, and
Transform – so advisors can choose how best to match their needs and
desired commitment levels. It will also provide access to other
features offered through the ActiFi software suite.

A community of elite advisors and allied institutions gathered in Omaha this fall for the 27th Excell Meeting. Hosted by Peak Advisor Alliance, one of the country’s leading practice management programs, and Ron Carson, a perennial favorite on both the Barron’s and LPL top advisors lists, the semi-annual advisor love-fest drew a throng of nearly 400 participants to what might now be deemed the new city of brotherly love.

Having now attended several Excell Meetings, I can attest to the unique atmosphere, high energy and strong sense of camaraderie among the participants. But to better understand an insider’s appeal for this community, I spoke with Minnesota-based advisor Bryan Sweet of Sweet Financial Services. Sweet is a long-time Peak member and one of Raymond James’ most successful advisors.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

This interview with Bill Winterberg, founder of fpPad, and Daniel Satchkov, CFA, president of RiXtrema, a portfolio crash testing system for financial advisors and financial institutions, while at the T3 Enterprise conference in Atlanta last week reminds me of ...

Sunday, November 16, 2014

In my weekly reading, I came across this rather good Infographic from 360PR. In the spirit of archiving good content, I am posting that infographic here. Hopefully, as a thoughtful financial services professional, you never have to do more than simply monitor and manage your online presence ... and have a plan "just in case."

Please also take a look at my articles for the industry publications listed below:

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Did you miss the webcast today on branding your financial advisory firm? We had a very robust andspirited conversation! I was joined by advisor coach extraordinaire' Diane MacPhee and the ever-delightful Maggie Crowley, marketing manager for Advisor Websites. We had so many questions, we couldn't get to them all. So I offered to put up this blog post and open up the discussion board here.

Maggie Crowley will be posting a link to the webcast recording (check the comments section).

And if you have more questions to ask Diane, Maggie or me, post them here and we will respond.

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Imagine sitting in on a candid discussion with David Booth and Alex Potts as they talk about what keeps them up at night, robo-advisors, ETFs, lessons learned five years post the Great Recession trough, and more. I had the privilege of doing just that ... and I am bringing a transcript of that conversation to you via AdvisorsThinkTank.com.

Friday, August 15, 2014

Looking for a stellar conference? Check out this article written by Dr. David Lawrence and published by Financial Advisor magazine, August 2014. Dr. Lawrence, the "efficiency doctor", says the Peak Excell Meetings take a "decidedly different approach."

The concept of Peak is to bring a group of successful advisors together in a sharing environment with the goal of making those advisors even more successful. Come to get inspired. Leave with ideas that will transform your practice.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

First-of-its-Kind Platform Helps People Find, Meet and Hire the Best Investment Advisor for Them Based on Verified Performance Data, Personalized Goals and Preferences

Finom, the pioneer in the analysis of investment adviser performance, and the only free decision-making tool that helps consumers find the best financial advisers based on personalized needs, goals and adviser performance track record, announced today the launch of its web platform available now at finom.com. The company is rolling out its service in the Chicago market with plans to expand its offering to additional markets later this year.

“Until now, consumers have not had access to data, technology or tools to properly assess advisers in an objective and personalized manner. Choosing an investment adviser is one of the most important decisions investors will ever make,” said Aziz Lalljee, co-founder and co-CEO of Finom. “Instead of handing over your entire investment portfolio and retirement savings to someone based on a tip from a friend during a round of golf, we believe consumers should be able to make informed, data-driven decisions based on transparency and trust.”

The free, easy-to-use website gives users the ability to search, compare and meet with investment advisors who best match their needs. Users create a personalized investment profile based on their responses to a five-minute risk assessment and adviser-fit questionnaire related to age, geography, investable assets, financial commitments, investing history, risk tolerance and goals. The platform then returns a list of matching advisers with detailed qualitative profiles and risk-adjusted performance measures for each adviser. Adviser profiles list services offered, client types, investment approach, fee schedule, services offerings, areas of expertise and firm history.

Finom’s powerful proprietary platform includes a rating ("Enthusiastic," "Strong" or "Reserved") of each adviser tailored to the user’s specific investment objectives and preferences. The platform even simulates how the user’s investments would have fared, after fees, under each suggested adviser's management, thus empowering financial consumers with actionable and personalized intelligence for the first time ever.

Users can sort and view profiles, compare up to three advisers side-by-side and choose to meet with as many advisers as they like, free of charge. If a user decides to hire an investment adviser found on Finom, the company will charge the selected adviser a fee that cannot be passed on to the client per Finom’s agreement.

All advisers on the Finom platform have gone through regulatory checks and a robust screening process; they are all independent, fee-only investment advisers who are registered with either the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or with their appropriate state regulator(s). Advisers on the platform have provided Finom with client-specific, monthly holdings data for the universe of their client accounts, typically over 5-7 years and updated quarterly. Finom analyzes, displays, and scores historical risk-adjusted returns across a range of investment horizons, risk tolerances and asset classes.

Finom aims to do for financial advisers what Morningstar did for mutual funds – provide comprehensive and rigorous intelligence on adviser practice and performance – thereby empowering consumers to make a more educated and informed decision when selecting a financial adviser to meet and potentially hire.

ABOUT FINOM

Finom, a pioneer in financial adviser comparison technology, brings radical transparency and analytical rigor to the financial adviser search and selection process. Finom helps consumers search, find and meet with investment advisers in a personalized, rigorous, and transparent way - with unprecedented access to performance and practice information. Advisers are featured based on a user’s specific investment goals and preferences, and assessed and rated with analytical rigor. The company was founded by David Gomel and Aziz Lalljee in 2011 out of the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, and is headquartered in Chicago. Finom Financial LLC is registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). For more information, visit finom.com.

FINOM LAUNCHES SERVICE TO HELP CONSUMERS MAKE INFORMED AND OBJECTIVE DECISIONS WHEN FINDING A FINANCIAL ADVISER

Thursday, April 17, 2014

If you are going independent or looking for a new IBD relationship, this post will interest you:

When
John Lindsey left a wirehouse to start his own financial advisory firm in 2012,
he knew there would be challenges and opportunities building a business as an
independent financial advisor. Building an online presence and using social
media to win friends and influence people was part of the plan. He’d also just
come through – and won – a FINRA arbitration in a long and nasty battle with
Edward Jones. So he needed to work extra hard to clear his good name and
mitigate what some uninformed consumers might have easily misunderstood.

Working
in tandem with his OSJ and the Cooper McManus team, John set out to do two
things:

Spark a conversation about
wirehouse abuses and help other captive advisors figure out a smart and
productive way to go independent

Generate
a strong online presence using social media, traditional PR and SEO tactics

After creating his brand, setting up his website, and
getting a little press on his own, John knew it was time to get professional
help. Thus, my team and I have been helping John refine
his strategy and accomplish the two goals above for a few months now (check out www.TheBoldAdvisor.com for relevant advisor-oriented content).

As a result of our work together, John Lindsey and I have been asked to do a "tag team" presentation at the Wealth Management and Marketing Conference being hosted May 16-17, 2014 in Laguna Beach.

Share
strategies for building relationships using digital media and expanding your online
presence

Outline
the challenges, opportunities and action steps needed to capitalize on the new
frontier

Provide
insights on how to get started if you don’t have any experience, and what to do
next if you're already well down the social media path

Tell how Cooper McManus and Securities America support their advisors' efforts

If you are a financial advisor looking for a new IBD relationship (or if you are currently at a wirehouse and are thinking of going independent), you may qualify to attend this 2-day retreat in Laguna Beach.

Saturday, March 1, 2014

What could you learn about investing and communicating with your clients if you could pick the brain of two of the best investing minds in the business?

Impact Communications, one of the industry's leading marketing communications and PR firms, is pleased to partner with Advisor Websites, one of our favorite turnkey website providers for financial advisors, to bring Timothy F. McCarthy to the 2014 industry thought leader roundtable series. He's a big name — and it is our good fortune to get a slot on his busy schedule. Tim will be joined by Daniel S. Kern, CFA, who will share key
research findings from The Safe Investor book along with his own observations about the investing landscape in 2014 and beyond.

Tim McCarthy is the author of The Safe Investor: How to Make Your Money Grow in a Volatile Global Economy (Feb 2014; Published by Palgrave Macmillan). McCarthy has dedicated his entire career to the financial services industry and his experiences include serving as Chairman and CEO of Nikko Asset Management in Tokyo, Good Morning Securities in Seoul, CEO of Jardine Fleming in Hong Kong, President of Charles Schwab and Co., and President of the Fidelity Investment Advisor Group. As an executive who formerly led large and successful corporations, McCarthy understands how difficult it can be for employed individuals to speak their minds. At this point in his career, he prides himself on offering candid comments and frank opinions. For more information please visit www.TimMcCarthy.com.

ABOUT DAN KERN, CFA

As president of Advisor Partners (an asset management company that offers services and solutions only through independent financial advisors and their clients), Dan Kern is responsible for establishing and driving the overall
company strategy; he also oversees the firm's operations. As CIO, he establishes the investment philosophy
and process for Advisor Partners. Prior to joining Advisor Partners,
Daniel was Managing Director and Portfolio Manager for Charles Schwab
Investment Management; he also headed up product
development and served as CFO of a fund company. Prior to Schwab, he
was Managing Director and Principal for Montgomery Asset Management. Learn more about Dan and his firm at www.AdvisorPartners.com.

The roundtable concept is pretty simple: Advisor Websites will host an open
discussion centered around a specific topic. Participants
dial in and listen to industry experts chat about a given topic.

Listeners can submit questions or relevant topics they’d like to hear
about in advance by email (marketing@advisorwebsites.com) or ask
questions on the fly by tweeting @AdvisorWebsite using the hashtag
#AWlive.

This is your chance to pick the brains of some of the most brilliant minds in the advisory industry.

Ted is a regular contributor to
Investment News' new Tech Talk section,
and he and his business partner Kile Lewis are two of the smartest thinkers I
know when it comes to digital marketing and building a strong online presence.

Their company, oXygen Financial, is an
independent financial advisory firm that focuses on working with families and
small business owners within the X & Y Generations. They are one of the Top
5 performing branch offices within the Investacorp, Inc. broker/dealer system
and were recently named one of Inc. 5000’s fastest growing companies.

Ted was joined on the panel by Brittney
Castro, Founder & CEO of Financially Wise Women, and Peter Velardi, CEO of
FiPath4Advisors, LLC.

Alas, I was on an airplane when the webinar occurred or I would have
live-tweeted these golden nuggets had I been there in real time. However, I did
have one of my staff members record the call and take notes. Good stuff –
enjoy!

GOLDEN
NUGGETS FROM THE PANEL … AND A FEW QUICK TIPS FROM ME

1. Peter
Velardi: Here are three critical questions you should ask yourself when
considering marketing to your prospective clients: 1) How do I connect with my
target audience? 2) How do I build my brand? 3) How do I create an actionable
path to real, meaningful leads?

2. Peter: Have a definite marketing
plan: Who are you going after? What's your strategy? How are you going after
them?

3. Brittney Castro: Who is your
ideal client? Most successful advisors differentiate themselves by creating a
niche and building their brand presence around that niche so that they stand
out to prospective clients.

4. Ted Jenkin: “Pull marketing"
results in leads in your in-box. Build an online presence through your website
and social media and allow prospects to find you easily.

5. Ted: If the only trapping
mechanism you have on your website is a "Contact Us" page, then
you've missed the boat. Give away a free e-book or other tool to make prospects
want to engage and supply you with their email address. See how oXYGenFinancial does it.

6. Brittney: It's not possible to
give away too much free information online. Even if you give them the full
blueprint of what you do in your blog, your prospects will see you as an expert
and a valuable resource. And when they're ready, they'll contact you as the
expert to manage their money.

7. Brittney: People are interested
in meaningful content. You can initially use LPL pre-approved content, but that
is pretty dry. Consider writing your own content. You are the brand to your
business, so your voice is important in building your brand.

8. Ted: Regarding content and
compliance: educate your compliance department with what you're doing. Don't assume
that they know how the social media works – explain to them how it works and
what you want to do. Don’t be afraid to post an article that's informative and
reasonable. As long as the article doesn't say "Buy Apple" or
something specific like that, you are not going to have any trouble with
compliance.

9. Brittney: In regards to selecting
social media sites to be on, find out what sites your clients are on. If
they're not on Facebook, have a presence for your brand, but don't spend much
time there. If they're on LinkedIn, make sure you keep up regular activity and
devote more of your online efforts there.

10. Ted: If you're on LinkedIn,
check out LinkedInlabs.com. It syncs with your connections and shows a Year in
Review for each of your contacts, which allows you to see who’s changed jobs.
That's a great way to see money in motion, for instance an opportunity for a
401(k) rollover. If you're the first to pounce on that opportunity, it will
give you the ability to get some more assets under management.

Sidenote from me: You might also find it
helpful to “visualize” your LinkedIn connections using their InMap feature.
This very cool tool helps you map your professional network to understand the
relationships between you and your connections.

11. Peter: Is what I'm doing with
social media driving meaningful traffic to my practice? To answer this you must
be able to track your leads, determine the conversion rate, determine if it
adds value to your practice, and find a way to report the results. If you
aren't seeing a measurable difference, then don't waste your time on it.

12. Ted: On your website, if you
don't have a drop down box on your contact page for your prospects to mark how
they found you, how will you know the cost of the lead? You need to know how
prospects find you so you can focus your efforts on what drives your leads the
most.

13. Peter: An emerging area in
marketing in the future will be content generation for FA's who don't have the
time or inclination to write their own content. Companies will emerge to
provide turnkey content that is FINRA-approved or can be quickly approved.

14. Ted: When considering the
traditional event to attract potential clients or for client appreciation,
shoot for "infotainment" – a combination of information and
entertainment. It can't just be an informative lecture over a steak dinner
anymore. People are looking for more active, entertaining events that engage
them and draw them in: sushi making, glass blowing classes, etc. Creative
activities are great for relationship building, and you get a better “call to
action” on your hard marketing.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Tim McCarthy is former president of Schwab (also ran an
asset management firm in Japan and worked as an executive for Fidelity Advisor Services).

Dan Kern is a
longtime asset manager who logged time at Schwab and Montgomery Funds
(now president and CIO of Advisor Partners).

In this one-hour webinar, they announced announced new
research that will help you determine when mutual funds are likely to merge or die out
entirely (never a good thing they say). I served as moderator.

Most advisors don't know or even think about the risks that
using mobile dictation services pose! Join Dr. David Lawrence as he
shares what he learned researching the security issues for his latest
white paper on Mobile Dictation Services: Choices & Challenges.

He will be joined by Maree Moscati and Baird Juckett of Copytalk,
LLC, and Marie Swift of Impact Communications to talk about this
important topic.

Dr. David Lawrence is a nationally recognized expert on operational
efficiency for the financial services profession. With many years of
experience in integrating technological systems with management needs,
he offers a unique perspective on the use of technology as a leadership
tool. He has been frequently quoted by such national publications as
Barron's, Financial Planning Interactive, USA Today, and The Wall Street
Journal Online among others. He has written articles for Practice
Lifecycle, the Investment Management Consultants Association (IMCA)
Monitor, The Virtual Office Newsletter and Turning Point Inc.
Newsletter. He has also made frequent appearances on NBC and FOX
television affiliates. He is a sought after public speaker on a variety
of leadership, financial and technical topics. Dr. Lawrence is also a
monthly columnist and contributing editor for Financial Advisor Magazine
(www.fa-mag.com).

Join us for a discussion of his recent research into efficient and secure mobile dictation solutions, including how to:

Copytalk,
LLC, based in Sarasota, Florida, provides industry-leading, secure
transcription to financial services professionals. Since 2001, the firm has
served tens of thousands of clients across a broad range of institutions. For
client-focused financial professionals, Copytalk is able to securely deliver
transcribed notes or enter them directly into their CRM systems. Copytalk is unique in that all work is transcribed
in US-based, secured, monitored facilities, rather than in home-based or
overseas environments like most other transcription services. For more
information, visit www.copytalk.com.

Thursday, September 19, 2013

As part of its ongoing effort to help independent financial advisors
become the most trusted professional in their clients' lives, Loring
Ward will hold its Building Your Foundation for Future Growth workshop
in five cities across the country. Presented in close collaboration with
noted institutional money manager, Dimensional Fund Advisors, the
workshops are focused on helping financial advisors take the next step
in their wealth management journey and better address clients' rapidly
evolving needs, goals and expectations.

Unconventional in their
wisdom and powerful in their prescriptions, the workshops are founded on
the best practices of some of the top advisors across America. They are
designed to encourage advisors to think differently about key areas of
their practice.

Over the course of two hours, financial advisors will learn how Loring Ward:

· Can help them build better portfolios and become a true wealth advisor

·
Has partnered for more than two decades with the #1 mutual fund
company amongst advisors, Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA)*

· Frees up advisor's time to focus on what really matters to clients ‹ meeting their financial AND life goals

· Provides a wealth of resources ‹ including investment, behavioral, back office, marketing and practice management

Each workshop will be held from 10 am to noon, and lunch will be provided. Locations and dates for the workshops are:

- September 18 ‹ Columbus, OH

- September 25 ‹ San Diego, CA

- September 26 ‹ Sacramento, CA

- October 1 ‹ Minneapolis, MN

- October 2 ‹ Kansas City, MO

For
more information, contact Loring Ward¹s Advisor Relations Team at (800)
366-7266 ‹ Option 6 or visit www.loringward.com/Future. These workshops
are complimentary, but space is limited, so please register today.

ABOUT LORING WARD

Loring
Ward (LWI Financial Inc.), based in San Jose, California is a Turnkey
Asset Management Provider (TAMP) dedicated to helping independent
advisors become the most trusted and valued professional in their
clients' lives. Loring Ward's Asset Class Investing philosophy combines
more than eight decades of market data, Nobel Prize-winning academic
research and the latest discoveries in behavioral finance.

From
Investment Management to Business Management to Practice Development,
Loring Ward is committed to giving advisors the tools, training and
support to provide clients with a world-class experience.

As
of September 2013, Loring Ward has $9.1 billion in assets under
management. For more information, please visit www.loringward.com.

Monday, July 15, 2013

Impact Communications, Inc. is celebrating its 20th Anniversary this year! Since 1993, Marie Swift and her Impact team have provided full service PR, Media Relations, Media Training, Keynote Speeches and Training Workshops, Marketing Consulting Services, Copy writing, Graphic Design, Website and Marketing Collateral Development, and Book Publishing Support to Independent Advisors and Allied Institutions in the Financial Services Industry.

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About Marie Swift

Marie Swift is Principal of Impact Communications,
a full-service marketing communications firm serving a select group of
independent financial advisors, industry thought-leaders and allied
institutions. Impact Communications has two service lines – one for
independent advisory firms and one for the institutions that support
them.

Industry expert David Drucker calls her a “PR consultant
extraordinaire” and featured her firm in “Raising Perceptions,” an
article published by Research magazine about the benefits of public
relations and credibility marketing.